(Why) The Marmalade.
We truly have no plans to become a jam company, but what started as a way to use extra chile powder during the pandemic has turned into a delicious way to highlight some of our spices! Our Citrus and Chile Marmalade is packed with California-grown ingredients including oranges and lemons, Big Sur sea salt, and our Piment d’Ville.
The flavor profile of the marmalade is one of deep citrus ~ lingering heat ~ tad bitter ~ tinge sweet.
It’s a little saucy, a little jammy, and is the perfect cheese plate companion. Use it as a dipping sauce, as a glaze, a spread, or eat it by the spoonful.
I really enjoy the marmalade on toast or as a glaze on coffee cake. Last week, Zingerman’s Deli paired the marmalade on their Sweet Butter Tea Cake and it was absolutely delicious. The marmalade is great on a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich and can even be used in a sweet chile glaze for shrimp!
More on Spreads
Aside from our olive oil, this marmalade and last years Strawberry and Espelette jam are the only products that we don’t make here on the farm. Last year, we got great feedback about these products and we've started exploring how to recreate these a bit closer to home (the strawberry jam was made by a friend in Michigan).
We're currently working to recreate our Strawberry and Espelette jam from last year, but with organic strawberries from Rodriguez Family Farms. And in August we'll be working with a local kitchen to both highlight and balance our Comapeño harvest with an additional spread. So, while we have no plans on becoming a jam company, we're still excited by these three products and how they help us highlight not just great producers in California, but our spices as well!
Every cheeseboard should include chile powder (and some marmalade).
Each time I put together a cheese and charcuterie board for me and Gideon to share, I always add a jar (or a little dish) of Piment d’Ville.
I think that PdV is the perfect thing to sprinkle on a tangy goat cheese or on a creamy triple cream wheel of brie as it helps round out the flavors on the board without being overwhelmingly spicy. Slather your cheese on a cracker and give a sprinkle of Piment d’Ville - I go for Classic or Smoky Piment!
We learned recently that in the early days of the spice trade, spices were mixed into wheels of cheese to stretch the expensive ingredients so that they could be enjoyed for longer periods of time.
Whether you make a batch of Piment-o Cheese or mix any of our chile powders into a bowl of soft goat cheese, your cheese plate will shine. And don’t forget to add our Citrus and Chile Marmalade to the board too! It goes great with hard cheese like manchego, other aged crystally cheeses and with soft cheese as well.
A Highlight in Cherry Bombe Magazine
Cherry Bombe is an indie media company that champions women in the food and drink world through features in their quarterly print magazine, podcast, and events. We were lucky enough to be featured as one of the “Members We Love” in Issue No. 19 all about entrepreneurs! Head to www.cherrybombe.com to get The Entrepreneur Issue!
Above: Smiling with last month’s feature in NYT Cooking and Cherry Bombe!
What We're Cooking
- Our recipe developer wrote this recipe for Hot Honey Comapeño Chicken Wings per Gideon’s request at the end of 2021. These wings are stupid delicious. They are oven baked instead of fried to ease the cooking process. I’m sure the wings would be delicious with any of our chile powders, but we like them best with Comapeño.
- Southern California stone fruit is ripening right now so if we get our hands on any up here I’m going to make an apricot galette with Habanero chile powder!
- This Spicy Red Pesto from NYT Cooking was a great way to use the end of our jar of Calabrian Chile Flakes. It makes enough pesto for 2 pounds of pasta. I’m looking forward to pulling the extra out of the freezer next week for an easy dinner!
- We’re pulling the first strawberries off our plants so this is undoubtedly the start of weekly berries and cream desserts where I experiment adding different flavors to the whipped cream. Last year, cinnamon whipped cream was my favorite.
